The sizable entourage set off grandly.
Once they exited from the west outer area of Tianjing Mountain, they could see the wide road that led to the outer circle of Tianjing Mountain. The distance was not long, but neither was it short. As Hong Dali traveled, he looked at the scenery around him and, rubbing his chin, said, “This piece of land suddenly looks good. It looks quite vast.”
Hearing him say that, Tang Muxin knew that what Uncle Hong Weiguo said was right. Dali definitely had some new ideas.
As expected, Hong Dali looked left and right. As he looked, his eyes started to glimmer. This was it. Hong Dali suddenly stood up and announced, laughing out loud: “I have decided, I want this piece of land. Hahaha!”
Tang Muxin face-palmed. It really was true that no one knew their sons like fathers did.
After Hong Dali had laughed for a while, Tang Muxin asked curiously, “Dali, this piece of land is indeed not bad, but what do you intend to do with it?”
Hong Dali answered with his trademark answer. “I have no idea. I just find this piece of land not bad. Eh, Xinxin, if I buy this land, what do you think I should do with it? Make a theme park? World of pets?”
“Those?” Those ideas didn’t seem to work well here. Tang Muxin was suddenly reminded of the time Hong Dali asked “Why must Hollywood be in Merika?” Her eyes suddenly lit up. Perhaps, perhaps if they developed this area based on Hong Dali’s miraculous idea…
Tang Muxin cried out in surprise. “Dali! Let’s make this place into something like Hollywood. What do you think?”
Hong Dali rubbed his chin and laughed again. “Hollywood? Okay! That’s set, then! This shall be called the Heavenly State Movie Base in the future! Heavenly Movies in short! Our voyage on shall be the seas of the stars! Hahaha!”
“Heavenly State Movie Base…” Tang Muxin said it out loud twice and nodded vehemently. “Okay! Let those Merikans see, the movies our Heavenly State makes are as good as theirs!”
Since it had been decided, Hong Dali called Ling Xiaoyi immediately. “Xiaoyi, help me tell my father, I intend to buy all of the lands beside the road.”
Xiaoyi’s voice came through immediately. “Yes, Young Master.”
There was fun to be had again, and Hong Dali was very satisfied. “Yes, yes. Today is a good day, haha! Doesn’t Hollywood have an honorary mayor or something? Xinxin, you shall be the honorary mayor of Heavenly Movies in the future.”
Tang Muxin exclaimed excitedly. “Really? Dali, you’re the best! Hehe.”
Li Nianwei smiled and said, “Young Master is always so thorough when he does things. He said that he wanted to go up against Hollywood, and he is really going to go up against them. I believe with the Young Master’s ability, we will definitely not lose to Hollywood.”
That’s a given!
Humpft, I have transmigrated! I can pick out a bunch of movies from all the major films on Earth. Yes, but what should the first movie be?
Hong Dali sat down immediately and rubbed his chin while he pondered. “There are really many classic films back on Earth. However, I have never directed a movie nor written a script before, neither am I a good actor… What is there that does not require this professional knowledge?
He thought for a long time but did not manage to come up with anything.
He couldn’t be blamed, actually. It was really not his fault. A movie was mainly made up of a director, a script, and the actors. There really wasn’t much else.
Hong Dali had a pretty good lot of actors on hand. Mu Zixiao could be depended on for the action scenes, Tang Muxin and Li Nianwei could be the female leads, and, if necessary, he could use Ling Xiaoyi too. The directing and the script, on the other hand, was another issue. He could do it if it were just for fun, but if it were to go up against Hollywood, it might not be up to par.
It was fortunate he was not a stickler for details. Since he couldn’t think of anything right now, he might as well not think. He immediately changed the topic. “Forget it, I can’t think of anything. Let’s go visit Tianjing Mountain and take a look around…”
Tang Muxin: “…”
She was almost in tears. He shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up and all excited for nothing if he wasn’t sure he could see it through…
But even though Hong Dali said that Tang Muxin was still feeling kind of assured about the whole matter.
Other things aside, Hong Dali’s luck was phenomenal. Humans and gods alike stood no chance against it. Heavenly Movies might not be able to surpass Hollywood, but it was not inconceivable that Hollywood might get burned down to nothing in a freak accident. Dali creates miracles—Tang Muxin was confident that this saying could be set in stone.
The group continued going forward. As they reached the crossroads at the outer edge of Tianjing Mountain, Ling Xiaoyi’s brother, Ling Mufeng came up to them in welcome. Following behind was an old man with round-rimmed spectacles and green oriental clothing. The briefcase in his hands prompted Hong Dali to curiously ask, “Old sir, are you collecting the water bill or the electricity bill? You came all the way out here?”
It was no wonder Hong Dali thought that. The old man dressed much like how the water and electricity bill collectors back on Earth did.
When Ling Mufeng heard what Hong Dali said, he immediately interjected. “Young Master, this is my primary school teacher, Teacher Wang. He came here because he had heard that Young Master has opened a school here.”
Hong Dali hurriedly jumped off the back of the giant tortoise and went forward to shake hands with the old man. “Ah, how do you do? Oh my, I’m sorry to have accidentally mistaken you for the utility bill collector just now. Please don’t be offended. Haha. Don’t be offended.”
They say Hong Dali was liked by all who met him. He might be the most self-indulgent prodigal son in Tianjing City, but his attitude towards people was without fault.
Teacher Wang smiled. “How do you do? I have heard of you.”
There was no need to say where he had heard of Hong Dali. There were few in Tianjing City who did not know who Dali was. Geezer Wang had a partner now. One wondered if Teacher Wang and Geezer Wang would hit it off when they met.
By this time, everyone had gotten off the tortoise or alighted from the car. Ling Xiaoyi walked over and said, smiling, “Teacher Wang, how are you? You look healthy as always.”
Teacher Wang looked at Ling Xiaoyi and smiled. “Is that Miss Xiaoyi? I have not seen you in a long time.”
Soon, everyone had made their greetings. Hong Dali asked curiously, “Teacher Wang, you are here today because…”
At Hong Dali’s reminder, Teacher Wang felt a little disheartened. He said, “Oh, it’s like this. Last year, my wife passed away. My two girls do not stay with me, either. After I retired, I have been at home idling, so I thought I’d go look for a job as a night watchman. It just so happened that I ran into Ling Mufeng, so I came here to take a look.”
As he related that, his eyes filled with hope. “Young Master Dali, this school that you are building, do you need a night watchman?”
Hong Dali gave it some thought and said, “I do need one, but… Please wait, I need to better understand the situation.”
Hearing Hong Dali say that Teacher Wang suddenly felt discouraged. He thought that he was so old, even if he wanted to work as a night watchman, people might not want him. That made his pride feel a little trod on.
Tang Muxin couldn’t bear to see him this way and pulled at Hong Dali’s wrist. “Dali, accept first maybe…?”
Hong Dali smiled. “Don’t play. I’m attending to official business here. Don’t worry, it will just take a while.”
Hong Dali immediately led Ling Mufeng off to a side and inquired in a whisper. “Mufeng, how are this Teacher Wang’s character and workability?”
Hong Dali had always been decisive and thorough when attending to business. He didn’t seem like one who would take time to debate if he should take on a night watchman. However, Ling Mufeng immediately answered Hong Dali’s question. “He’s definitely a good man. He can remember the names of almost all his former students. Even now, many students who have already started work still return to visit him. Character-wise, there is no fault to be had. He is also a skilled professional. When I was in primary school, he was already the Dean. He likes to keep a low profile though, and he’s not very good at bootlicking… so he has always been stuck at that position. Otherwise, he would have become the Principal long ago.”
“Oh, I understand then.” Hong Dali walked back to the group and said, smiling, “Teacher Wang, I’m very sorry, but I cannot give you the job of night watchman.”
After hearing what Hong Dali said, the light went out of Teacher Wang’s eyes. He said resignedly, “Okay, I understand…”
He started to leave after speaking, but Hong Dali quickly grabbed him and said, “Don’t be in such a hurry, I have not finished speaking.”
Teacher Wang perked up again like a neighborhood aunty who had just heard about a big sale in the supermarket. He asked excitedly, “Then… is there any other job? You can ask me to be the toilet cleaner or the dormitory guard. All I want is to be able to watch over cute little children.”
Hong Dali suddenly felt like a heel. He should not have tried to joke about this.
So, he took a deep breath and said, “It’s like this. Our school has everything. Teachers, canteen, dormitory, as well as hygiene workers—” then, he inserted the twist. “We are just short of a Principal. Do you…”
Teacher Wang was temporarily stunned when he heard what Hong Dali said.
Truth be said, when he came here, he just wanted to be the night watchman. At least he could see the kids every day. After all, he had been a teacher for the better part of his life and was extremely discomforted by the loneliness in his life.
He had been a teacher for so many years. This society treated its teachers quite well, and his two daughters were doing well too. He had some savings and would definitely not starve to death. He had completely no intention of getting a job that would pay him well when he came today. All he wanted was to find something that paid—even a meager sum like a hundred or two would have been fine. He would have been contented.
No matter what he had thought, he definitely had no idea that Hong Dali would ask him to be the Principal.
Teacher Wang felt the excitement stir in his heart. However, after some thought, he decisively said, “Better not. I’m already so old, I’m not as sharp as before. Besides, I have no experience as a Principal. Everything is for the children. If I make a mistake teaching the children, even if I were to die, my heart would not be at peace.”
It was apparent that the older generation all had higher comprehension skills. If it were someone else, they would have immediately asked about the pay for the Principal post and not worried about anything else.
The more he said, the more Hong Dali liked him. He chuckled and said, “Don’t be too humble. I have never heard of anyone who was born knowing how to be a Principal. It’s okay if you have no experience, you can learn slowly. At least, I feel assured putting the kids in your hands.”
Teacher Wang held Hong Dali’s hand tightly and shook it vigorously, saying, “I think we should forget it. I only wanted to be there. I heard that you will be taking in underprivileged kids from the rural areas and that their food, accommodations, and fees will all be free. Sigh, it’s most important that the children should have an education. I don’t think my old bones are up to it!”
